In short
Yes. With a free account you get 500 credits when you sign in and 100 more every week, enough for roughly 15 Quick questions a week. Deep, web search and longer answers come with Zack Basic and Zack Pro. With your own API key, your provider bills you instead and no Zack credits are used.
- To start
- 500 credits, valid for 12 months
- Every week
- 100 credits; unused ones do not carry over
- Included in Free
- Quick, files, screenshots, automatic chat titles
- From Zack Basic
- Deep, web search, longer answers
- Own API key
- No Zack credits, on every plan
How to start on Zack Free
- Install Zack KI (see Install Zack KI).
- At the first start, sign in with Google or with a link sent to your email. You do not need a password.
- Your 500 starting credits are added to the account.
- Press Alt+1 or Alt+2 and ask your question in Quick.
- Check your balance under “Settings” → “Account”.
How far do the free credits go?
The 100 weekly credits cover roughly 15 Quick questions. The exact number varies, because credits depend on how much text goes in and comes out: a question about a long PDF uses more than “What does pro rata mean?”.
The weekly credits are set anew every week; whatever is left expires. The 500 starting credits and any credit pack you buy stay valid for 12 months.
Under “Settings” → “Account” you see “Weekly credits”, “One-time credits” and when the weekly credits reset. When credits run low, Zack KI shows about how many questions are left, and only one question can run at a time.
What uses credits?
Every request to a Zack KI model. The amount grows with:
- The length of your question, your custom instructions and the recent chat messages sent along.
- Attachments: selected text, files and screenshots.
- The length of the answer, and the reasoning steps in Deep.
- Each web search and each opened page (from Zack Basic).
- The automatic title of each new chat.
Opening the window, inserting and copying use no credits. Deep uses several times as many credits per question as Quick; see Quick or Deep.
What do Zack Basic and Zack Pro add?
Both include “Deep”, web search with sources, the answer lengths “Short” and “Normal”, and more weekly credits than Free; Pro has more than Basic. Prices are on the pricing page.
If you only need more Quick questions, you can buy a credit pack on Zack Free too. It does not add Deep or web search.
Do I need an account?
For Zack KI models, yes: they need an account with credits. The same account and the same balance work in Zack Typing, the dictation app by Zack Software.
With your own API key, your provider bills you directly and Zack KI uses no credits. See bring your own API key.
Related questions
Do unused weekly credits carry over?
No. The weekly credits are set anew every week. Starting credits and credit packs are separate and stay valid for 12 months.
Can I use Deep or web search with a credit pack?
No. Credit packs work with Quick. Deep and web search need Zack Basic or Zack Pro.
What happens when my credits run out?
Zack KI shows “Credits used up” with buttons to get Zack Basic or more credits. Your saved chats stay on your PC, and new weekly credits arrive with the next reset.